What are Headaches and Migraines and What Causes Them?

What Is a Headache, and What Causes It?

A headache is pain anywhere in the head or neck. It may be a symptom of a number of different head and neck conditions.

While brain tissue itself is not susceptible to pain as it lacks pain receptors, pain in the head or neck could be due to disturbance in pain-sensitive structures around the brain. Pain-sensitive structures are in nine areas of the head and neck, including the cranium, nerves, muscles, subcutaneous tissue, arteries and veins, eyes, sinuses, ears, and mucous membranes.

A headache is a non-specific symptom that may have a number of different causes. Treatment will also depend on the underlying cause and will often require analgesics.

What Is a Migraine, and What Causes It?

A migraine is different from a headache in that it is a chronic neurological disorder. It consists of recurrent moderate to severe headaches associated with different autonomic nervous system symptoms.

A migraine sufferer will experience pulsing, throbbing pain, normally on one side of the head. In addition, symptoms like vomiting, nausea, and extreme light and sound sensitivity may also occur, lasting from four hours to three days.

Migraine headaches sometimes are mistaken as sinus or tension headaches but may interfere with sleep, work, and everyday activity at their most severe. Migraines can occur rarely, such as biannually or annually, or up to several times a week.

Other causes of migraines may include hormonal fluctuations, infection, unnatural diet, missing nutrients, and low levels of probiotics.